Liverpool Community Sports Field eyes spring finish line

Crews are working on the $3-million Liverpool Community Sports Field at Liverpool Regional High School. (Rick Conrad)

There may be a little short-term pain this fall for some big long-term gain for Liverpool’s high school soccer teams as they wait for a new multimillion-dollar field and track to be completed.

Crews are working now on building the $3-million-plus Liverpool Community Sports Field at Liverpool Regional High School. It will feature the South Shore’s only all-weather, year-round track and a new artificial turf soccer field.

Kristopher Snarby, president of the Queens County Track Society which is leading the effort, said the field likely won’t be finished until November. And depending on the weather, the new rubberized track probably won’t be ready until early spring.

“They’re working hard, they have a camper on site and the crew’s actually living in the camper and working pretty long days,” Snarby said Tuesday.

“We’re hoping that the field will be done late October, early November and the track itself, it depends on weather in terms of when they can lay the track. So the track will either be done in November as well or it will have to wait till spring when things are little warmer. So things are coming together fairly well. We kind of had a pipe dream that the soccer field would be ready for this fall, but that’s not going to happen unfortunately.”

In the meantime, he said the high school’s boys and girls soccer teams are working with the middle school in Liverpool to use that field for practices. He said they’ll likely have to find another field outside Liverpool for their games. 

Despite having to wait a little longer than they’d hoped, Snarby says it’s gratifying to see the project coming together.

“There have been so many people pushing for this for so long, it’s nice to finally see the end result coming together. The contractors that are doing the work are doing a great job there. They’re working really hard to move along as fast as possible.

“It’s just really exciting to know that the community is going to have this facility in a few months. And it’ll be great to see people start to use it. I’ve had inquiries already from other areas who are interested in renting the field to have some higher level soccer taking place there. So that’s really positive. It’s just really exciting for sure.”

The track and field project got a $1.8-million funding commitment from the federal government, $1.2 million from the province and $250,000 from the Region of Queens municipality. 

Snarby said his group will be launching a private fundraising campaign in the next couple of weeks to cover other costs, such as a shot put and discus throwing area.

He said doing those separately from the main project is cheaper.

“The costs to do it as a whole project were extremely expensive. So we had to pull them out of the project and we’re still going to get them done, but they’re going to be quite a lot more cost-effective.”

Snarby said that as long as construction continues to go as planned, everything should be ready for use by March or April next year. 

“We’re looking forward to the end result.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

Nova Scotia pitches in for new pool, soccer field, track for Queens County

Queens MLA Kim Masland, who is also Nova Scotia’s public works minister, with Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman on Friday at Queens Place Emera Centre after Masland announced more than $2.7 million in funding for Queens County. (Rick Conrad)

A new outdoor pool and a state-of-the-art track and soccer field for Queens County got a lot closer to reality on Friday as Queens MLA Kim Masland announced more than $2.7 million in funding for the region.

Masland, who is also the province’s public works minister, told a crowd at Queens Place Emera Centre that the province will give $2.2 million toward the $7.2-million community pool to be located next to Queens Place.

She also pledged an extra $500,000 for a new all-weather artificial turf soccer field and rubberized track at Liverpool Regional High School. Masland announced $700,000 last fall for the facility. That was before the design was changed to make it an all-weather facility, which would be the first of its kind on the South Shore. That brings the provincial contribution for that project to $1.2 million.

Masland made the funding announcements on behalf of Allan MacMaster, minister of communities, culture, tourism and heritage.

“These announcements are all about physical activity, making sure that we have opportunities for people living here and for people who are interested in moving to be part of what we have going on here in Queens. Great investment to keep our youth engaged,” she told reporters afterward.

“People that are moving to our communities, we have new doctors moving here, they have young families. They want to have facilities where their children and where they themselves … can be active. Health care is what we were elected on, and every decision that we make, health care plays a role in.”

Masland also announced the Liverpool Curling Club will get $47,030 for upgrades to its kitchen facilities.

The pool will be a six-lane, 25-metre, zero-entry structure, with a therapy hot tub.

The Region of Queens is contributing $2 million toward the pool, while an anonymous private donor has committed about $3 million.

Region of Queens Mayor Darlene Norman said that tenders for work on the pool will be issued soon. And the hope is that construction will begin in spring of 2025, with an anticipated opening in 2026.

“The next call will be the issuing of tenders. All the pre-designs are completed.”

Deborah Herman-Spartinelli is a member of the region’s pool committee and the Queens Community Aquatic Society. She said the provincial funding was “wonderful” news.

“We still need to fundraise for certain aspects. There’s all these things like starter blocks, equipment and the therapy pool and other things that are needed.”

Kristopher Snarby is president of the Queens County Track Society. He said that with Friday’s provincial funding, in addition to $1.8 million from the federal government and $250,000 from the municipality, his group has about $100,000 in fundraising left to do.

“We’re still hopeful that we might be able to get it done by late fall,” Snarby said in an interview.

“From a soccer perspective, it’s great. It allows us to have a longer season. You can play into the winter if you want to, as long as there’s no snow. From a track perspective, the rubberized surface will be fully accessible, a level walking area for seniors, for people with disabilities, and that also can be used year-round as well.”

This is the Houston government’s second significant funding announcement for Queens County in the past two weeks. On April 15, Masland announced $10.7 million for upgraded water and sewer infrastructure that would also be extended to the Mount Pleasant area of Liverpool.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Liverpool to get South Shore’s only all-weather outdoor track

The soccer field at Liverpool Regional High School will be getting a makeover this year, with artificial turf and a new all-weather track. (Rick Conrad)

South Shore track and field athletes will be getting a year-round, all-weather track at Liverpool Regional High School.

The Queens County Track Society has decided to upgrade its original plan. Instead of an eight-lane gravel track, the school will now be getting a rubberized four- to six-lane surface.

It’s part of a $3-million upgrade to the school’s outdoor facilities, which also includes a new artificial turf soccer field.

Kristopher Snarby is president of the Queens County Track Society. He said Liverpool will have the only rubberized track and turf soccer field on the South Shore.

“That means it’ll be able to be used year-round. You don’t have to worry about thawing and bad weather and it’s a lot more accessible for people. So it’s definitely a nice change to the original plan.”

He said the change will add between $250,000 and $300,000 to the cost of the project. The original price tag was pegged at $2.75 million, with funding from the federal, provincial and municipal governments.

RELATED: Liverpool high school to get new track and artificial turf soccer field

Snarby said the group decided the extra cost was worth it to have a year-round facility.

“One of the challenges with gravel, is that when you have the type of weather that we have, it means there’s a lot of upkeep to keep the track surface safe for people to train on. With the rubberized synthetic version, it’s going to be an attraction for athletes all over the South Shore to train on who are doing running events in track and field.”

The 400-metre track will now have four lanes, with an additional two on the straightaways for 100-metre and 110-metre hurdles races.

There are rubberized tracks at Acadia University in Wolfville, King’s-Edgehill School in Windsor, one in Clare and some in Halifax. The closest track to Queens County is a gravel facility at Park View Education Centre in Bridgewater.

Snarby says he’s confident the group can find the money to cover the extra expense.

“We’ve been really fortunate with the funding from the different levels of government. It is a bit more expensive but not crazy expensive like some other versions could have been, I guess.”

He said athletes from around the South Shore will benefit from the upgraded track. He said that because it will be fully accessible, a wider range of people, including para athletes and Special Olympics athletes, will be able to use it.

“It’s going to be a big game changer. It’ll be the only turf filed on the South Shore and also the only rubberized track on the south shore. We’re envisioning soccer teams coming here to use it. When younger athletes from the South Shore that go on to regionals and provincials, they’re always playing on turf fields now. And they’re also running on rubberized tracks. So it will give the South Shore region an advantage being able to train on the same type of track and field that they would be playing higher level games at.”

It will also give people in the community a safe, accessible surface to use.

“It’s going to be a great surface for people to get out in the fresh air and walk or run on a surface where they don’t have to worry about rolling their ankles and tripping. So it’s truly going to be a fully inclusive community space for people to use.”

Snarby said the group plans to launch some fundraising efforts in the next few weeks.

And he said they hope to have the track and soccer field completed by late fall, but he said it depends on contractor availability.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Queens approves land sale to affordable housing group, earmarks money for track at latest meeting

A long, brick building

Region of Queens Administration Building. Photo Ed Halverson

The sale of municipal properties to create affordable housing highlighted the recent Region of Queens council meeting.

Following a public hearing ahead of the meeting, council agreed to sell four parcels of land off Lawrence and Amherst Streets in Liverpool to the Queens Neighbourhood Cooperative Housing Ltd for one dollar.

Fair market value of the properties is estimated around $15,000 but council is permitted to dispose of properties to non-profit organizations for less if there is a community benefit.

Given the lack of affordable housing across the county, Mayor Darlene Norman says council was unanimous in their support of the sale.

“When they’ll break ground, that is uncertain. They’ll have to determine what exactly they want to build and then make a request to council because there may need to be some water/sewer work done in to site that land,” said Norman. “Council is excited about this.”

Council also voted to support the Queens County Track Society up to a quarter million dollars for the construction of new track facilities on the sports field adjacent to Liverpool Regional High School.

The project is eligible for 25 percent of the cost from the Region’s Community Investment Fund.

The final tally on the build is expected to be north of a million dollars and it’s expected the track will pursue funding from the provincial and federal governments.

Norman says the municipal funds won’t be released from the reserve until the society can show they have raised all the money needed to complete construction.

Council then moved into the discussion phase of the meeting.

After a couple of attempts, the committee working to realize the construction of a new pool in Queens now has terms of reference agreed upon by the majority of councillors.

The latest revision puts the committee members’ skills to work but doesn’t require municipal staff time.

The pool committee will also provide updates on their progress to council at regular intervals.

Several policy items were also up for discussion.

First, they reviewed a new policy to establish parameters around the selection, purchase, maintenance, and official removal of public art.

Second, council confirmed their meeting schedule would remain the same as the past year.

Lastly, an updated social media policy was presented and discussed.

All discussion items will return to council at future meetings to be voted upon before being adopted.

The next Region of Queens Council meeting will be in Chambers December 13 beginning at 9:00am.

E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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